Spanish motorist faces Angus dangerous driving charge after crash on first day of The Open

A Spanish motorist is facing a charge of seriously injuring someone in a Carnoustie road crash on the opening day of this year’s Open Championship over the Angus links.

Alberto Garcia is alleged to have hit another vehicle while on the wrong side of the road near the town, leading to one man being seriously injured and three other people, including himself, being hurt.

Garcia, of Araba Alava in northern Spain, was not in court when his case called before Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown at Forfar Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

He faces a complaint alleging that on July 19 on the B962 Monifieth to Newbigging Road, near to the A92, he drove dangerously, south on the northbound lane and into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

The charge states the vehicles collided a male was seriously injured, the accused and two other men were injured and both vehicles were damaged.

The court heard discussions have already taken place between the Crown and Garcia’s legal representatives with a view to resolving the matter.

Sheriff Martin-Brown continued the case without plea until September 11.

Garcia was excused from attending court on that date.

The accident which led to the dangerous driving charge happened on the day the Open Championship teed off on the Angus links, in an event which would prove to be a record-breaker in terms of crowd numbers.

The collision involved a car and a minibus, with motorists making their way to the event experiencing delays while the scene was cleared.

Police and paramedics attended the incident, but a police spokesman said at that the time no-one had been seriously injured.

The road accident was part of a busy day for emergency services in the area around the golf event, with local firefighters called to deal with a grass fire on the outskirts of Carnoustie just a few hours later.

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